An eviction drive started on November 29, 2025, in Assam's Nagaon district to remove encroachment from 795 hectares of reserved forest land. About 1,500 families lived there, officials said. The drive began in the Lutimari area with heavy security. Authorities had issued notices three months ago, giving residents two months to vacate. Residents asked for an extra month, which was allowed. More than 1,100 families, living in both pucca and kuccha houses, have already left with their belongings and dismantled illegal structures. Remaining houses are being demolished now. Some residents said they have lived there for over 40 years and did not know it was forest land. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that since May 2021, over 160 sq km of land has been freed from encroachment. He added that more than 50,000 people have been evicted through such drives. After a pause, the eviction drives resumed on June 16, with over 5,000 families evicted since then. Most displaced people are from the Bengali-speaking Muslim community. They claim their ancestors settled in these areas after river erosion washed away their lands in char or riverine regions along the Brahmaputra.